First of all, just want to thank the community here. I've actually been on anonymous reader of coffeegeek since last August. It has provided me great tips on how to make espresso.

However, I'm still running into some unusual issues so I'd like to ask them here for advice. First, my set up is a Gaggia Classic paired with a Baratza Virtuoso Preciso grinder. I've always used fresh beans (<2 weeks from roast time).

The challenge I face is that when I get 2 oz. @ 25 seconds, the espresso always comes out very overpowering, bitter, and rough. In order to achieve the 25 sec brew time, I have to dial my grinder down to a 2 out of 40. I use fresh coffee exactly @ 14g (have tried 15 and 16). The coffee is very fine, and I then use the WDT with a toothpick to even it out. I tamp on a flat surface very evenly with about 30-40 lbs. of force.

I have dialed up the grinder to a 3-4 and found that no matter how hard I tamp, the espresso brews in 15 seconds or less. It also tends to blonde a bit early. However, this tastes better than the former pull. Any ideas on what I might be doing wrong?

Keep in mind, I do use fresh water (tried filtered and spring), I use fresh coffee (tried several from Alegro to Lavazza), I also pull a water shot to clear the brew group before pulling a shot.

I have the same issue (bitter/harsh espresso). I am currently on my second bag of Social Coffee (Farmer's Collective Organic Espresso). Opened the first bag 3 days post roast and finished it 10 days post roast. I opened the second bag 7 days post roast and am now 12 days post roast. Social suggests this coffee is at it's best 7-10 days post roast (from a sealed bag).

I have been using 15g of espresso and making between 25-30g of espresso and was brewing it between 25-30 seconds.

With the first bag (and other coffees I've tried before) I get what I think is too much bitterness/harshness in the cup (the espresso is good with sugar or as a cappuccino, but too bitter to enjoy straight). Towards the end of the first bag I tried grinding coarser which resulted in brewing about 30g in 18-20 seconds. I didn't think this would be any good based on the general parameters recommended, but found I am finally able to enjoy the espresso without sugar due to the reduced bitterness.

Using Eric's E61 thermometer, temperature indicated is 203F at the start of the brew and 197F at the end of the brew. Going cooler has resulted in sour shots for me.

I have used Social's People's Daily prior to this (which I sampled at the roasters) and although I did get the same flavours at home, mine was always more bitter (I was brewing in 25-30 seconds with that bag of beans).

Can the amount of coffee I am using (15g) cause the bitter flavours as the grind I am using to achieve 25--30 seconds may be too fine (just speculating here)?Would increasing the dose (to say 16 or 17g) and adjusting grind to get 25-30 seconds reduce bitterness as the grind would be coarser (although OP said they use 14 and had similar results with 15 and 16g)?

Playing around at a friend's last night with a new bean too fine of a grind caused bitter espresso, and going coarser got rid of the bitterness but reduced the mouth-feel (espresso was watery). This was on a machine with a pressurized portafilter basket.

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